NATGEO.ORG/EXPLORERMAG | VOL. 18 NO. 4

’ C H O I C S S R E M E A H W C A A R SPECIAL ISSUE: E D T

FOR THE WOMEN CLASSROOM L E 2019 E A I N R Z N I A IN SCIENCE N G ® M A G

PATHFINDER

Kim Williams-Guillén 2

Dominique Gonçalves 10

Beverly Goodman 18 ToTo CatCat aa ThieThie

2 Our Changing Planet LIFE SCIENCE As you read, think about how people can have a negative or a positive effect on the environment. chch aa ThieThieff

National Geographic Explorer Kim Williams-Guillén created a way to track poachers who steal sea turtle eggs. By Brenna Maloney

3 Beaches where A thief waits in the darkness. His eyes sea turtles nest scan the Nicaraguan beach. Soon, he spots HONDURAS what he is looking for: A sea turtle digging CARIBBEAN SEA a nest. She begins to lay her eggs in the nest. NICARAGUA She falls into a trance. She doesn’t notice Chacocente PACIFIC La Flor the thief. OCEAN COSTA RICA The thief reaches into the nest and pulls SCALE 0 200 400 miles out the eggs, one by one. The turtle mother N lays her last egg and uses her back flippers Olive ridley turtles come to these beaches to cover it. She does not know that the nest by the thousands to lay their eggs during arribadas. Arribada means is now empty. The thief has taken every “arrival” in Spanish. last egg. Struggle for Survival Sea turtles have lived in our oceans for The greatest threat sea turtles face is millions of years. But now they are an people. People in some cultures eat sea endangered species. As few as one in turtle eggs. In Central America, poachers 10,000 baby sea turtles will survive to destroy more than 90 percent of the nests adulthood. They face many threats. on unguarded beaches. The eggs are After they hatch, they must crawl to the smuggled into cities to be eaten. ocean. But birds and other animals try to It only takes one poacher to cause a lot eat them. If the babies make it to the ocean, of damage. A stretch of coastline may have they face predators in the water. Some die only a few female turtles. If one person in fishing nets. Others eat plastic trash. robbed every nest, that person could Today, all but one of the world’s seven threaten an entire species. sea turtle species are in trouble. Of the four The demand for the eggs is high. A species that come to Nicaragua to lay their single egg can be sold for as much as $300. eggs, two are “critically endangered.” They Little is known about the routes poachers are the hawksbill and leatherback turtles. use. So, poachers are hard to catch. Risks Green sea turtles are “endangered.” Olive to the eggs seemed unbeatable. Until one ridley sea turtles are “vulnerable.” scientist had an idea.

4 Trip to the Sea

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A female sea turtle comes onto a beach. She digs with her flippers and creates a shallow nest.

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The mother turtle lays as many as She covers the nest with sand 120 eggs in the nest. and returns to the sea.

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After several weeks, the hatchlings The young turtles make their way break through their shells. across the beach to reach the ocean.

PATHFINDER 5 Looking for a Solution Kim Williams-Guillén is an ecologist. She’s Williams-Guillén knew she needed help. also the director of conservation science So, she contacted Lauren Wilde, a special for Paso Pacífico. The group protects effects and makeup artist in Los Angeles. biodiversity in Central America. Wilde took the printed eggs and sanded She knew sea turtle eggs were poached, them to make them smooth. Then she but there was so much she didn’t know. applied coats of paint and glue to get the Where did the poachers go? Who was right color. buying the eggs? She needed a way to From the outside, the fake eggs look track the poachers. What if she created a almost identical to real ones. But on the fake turtle egg with a tracking device in it? inside, the fake egg is packed with the What if she put it in a fresh sea turtle nest? kind of electronics you might find in a cell If it looked real enough, poachers might phone. They connect to the internet. They not notice. reveal the date and time that the egg is at a certain location. A New Idea Not only can the team track the egg, Paso Pacífico submitted this idea to the they can also figure out how fast the egg is Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge. It was moving. That may help them determine the selected in 2016 as one of 16 winners out of kind of transportation used to move 300 applicants. The prize money was used the egg. to help develop the first prototype for the Each fake egg costs about $40 to make. fake eggs. And Williams-Guillén needed several to A real sea turtle egg is about the size of test in the field. Luckily, Paso Pacífico was a Ping-Pong ball. It has a small dent in it. awarded another prize to It’s not covered in a hard shell. Instead, it’s further develop the project. slightly squishy. To get an almost rubbery feel, Williams-Guillén needed to find the right sort of plastic. She tested several materials before finding the right one. She used a 3-D printer to produce the fake egg. But it still didn’t look quite right. In a real egg, the yellow yolk almost shines through the thin, white shell.

Each fake egg weighs as much as a real egg. However, it is stuffed with a tracking device.

6 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER Hollywood makeup artist Lauren Wilde uses paint and glue on the fake eggs to make them look real.

Lauren Wilde inspects one of the fake sea turtle eggs.

The fake eggs are hard to spot. One was placed on top of this nest.

PATHFINDER 7 Finding a Partner Paso Pacífico teamed up with wildlife biologist Helen Pheasey. Pheasey was willing to plant some decoy eggs. She had three goals. First, she needed to see if the technology in the eggs would work in the field. Second, she needed to see if the design of the eggs could trick poachers. And third, she needed to make sure that the fake eggs did not disturb the real eggs’ health. So far, the news has been good. The healthy eggs are not bothered by the fake eggs. The poachers have been fooled. And the tracking works. Pheasey was able to track some decoys to their destinations. The system isn’t perfect. Limited cell networks A Paso Pacífico turtle ranger collects could limit their ability to track the eggs. turtle eggs for safekeeping nearby. But, it’s a good start! Sea Turtles in Nicaragua Sea turtles can live for more than 50 years. They are an important part of a healthy marine ecosystem. Nicaragua’s beaches have long been crucial nesting grounds. Sadly, they have seen a sharp decline in sea turtles. green sea turtle hawksbill sea turtle

Length: 100 centimeters (3.2 feet) Length: up to 94 centimeters (3 feet) Weight: 180 kilograms (397 pounds) Weight: 80 kilograms (176 pounds) Presence: Caribbean Coast, Pacific Coast Presence: Caribbean Coast, Pacific Coast Status: Endangered Status: Critically Endangered Many green turtles are caught in Nicaragua The shell of the hawksbill turtle is often used for food. to make souvenirs.

8 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER What Comes Next Using more fake eggs is the next step. Williams-Guillén doesn’t think her With more data, it will be easier to make fake eggs will solve the problem of turtle a map to show where the eggs are traded. egg poaching. But she does think it could The locations will help the team better be a powerful tool. Combined with other understand the demand for turtle eggs. conservation efforts, it could help ensure Experts believe most of the stolen that sea turtles are safe for the future. eggs make their way to El Salvador or Guatemala. There is also a concern that WORDWISE sea turtle eggs are being shipped overseas. biodiversity: the variety of living things If this is true, it could mean new markets in a given place for the eggs. And a trade that would be ecologist: a person who studies the harder to combat. Still, the information relationships between living things and gathered by the team could help police their surroundings capture poachers. endangered species: a species at risk of The data could also be becoming extinct, or dying out used for conservation poacher: a person who hunts, kills, or projects, such as beach captures animals illegally patrols to monitor the nests.

leatherback sea turtle olive ridley sea turtle

Length: 150 centimeters (5 feet) Length: up to 74 centimeters (2.4 feet) Weight: up to 700 kilograms (1,543 pounds) Weight: 45 kilograms (100 pounds) Presence: Caribbean Coast, Pacific Coast Presence: Pacific Coast Status: Critically Endangered Status: Vulnerable The leatherback turtle is the largest sea turtle Olive ridley turtles are the most abundant sea living on Earth. turtle, yet they are still endangered.

PATHFINDER 9 GORONGOSA’SGORONGOSA’SGORONGOSA’S ELEPHANTSELEPHANTSELEPHANTS

10 Wildlife and Wild Places LIFE SCIENCE As you read, think about how elephants’ memories and perceptions affect their behavior.

Years of civil war brought harm to the elephants. Now, they are reclaiming their home. By Brenna Maloney

National Geographic Explorer Dominique Gonçalves

11 Matriarch Valda stands tall. But you can clearly see the bullet hole in her It was a right ear—an injury she got in the war. beautiful place once.

And it will be again. But from 1977 to 1992, Gorongosa National Park was a war zone. In 1975, the African country of Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal. Two years later, the country was engulfed in a civil war. The war was a human war. Yet, many animals suffered. After the war, large animals, such as elephants, buffalo, zebras and wildebeests, were noticeably lacking. Where some 2,500 elephants had freely roamed, fewer than 200 elephants remained. And those that did were scarred by war. For Dominique Gonçalves, Gorongosa is home. She understands what the elephants suffered. She is a National Geographic Explorer and the manager of the Elephant Ecology Project. Animal behaviorists believe that Gorongosa elephants are aggressive. But Gonçalves prefers to think of them as protective. They have seen their families All in the Family slaughtered, and they have long memories. An elephant herd is like a family. The oldest These elephants were hunted for meat and largest female leads her daughters and to feed soldiers. Their tusks were sold for their offspring. She is the matriarch. ammunition. Many elephants from that The females help each other with time are alive today. And they don’t trust the birth and care of their young. Male humans. How will their experiences shape elephants, called bulls, form small pods in their future? which they live and travel.

12 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER In Gorongosa, the elephants’ behavior is Gonçalves has seen these behaviors. influenced by their fear of people developed She understands what they mean. “The during wartime. They behave differently social bonds between elephants are really from elephants elsewhere. complex,” she says. They form strong They stay away from open areas during connections, beginning with the mother daylight. If they encounter people, they and calf. Protecting the herd is the fight or flee. They trumpet loudly to scare matriach’s priority. Gonçalves learned this people away. in the field.

PATHFINDER 13 Hoping to Help Room to Roam Gonçalves and her team came upon a Today, there are more than 650 elephants mother and her injured calf one day. The living in Gorongosa. They once had calf was limping. Its leg had been caught in free range of the park. Now, this smaller a snare. The wound was very serious. The population stays in the southern part only. baby needed treatment, or it would not As the herds grow, Gonçalves wonders survive. Gonçalves called a vet who flew in which areas they will choose to live in. by helicopter. Unfortunately, the mother Elephants need room to roam. A saw people as threats. As her tension grew, matriarch might lead her herd she tore trees from the ground. Then she 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) a day. As they wildly thrashed a large stick. search for food and water, she might take The team could see the baby, hidden in them through a village to snack on crops the brush. They stayed in place for hours. while the villagers sleep! They hoped that the mother would let them approach. Instead, she bolted into the brush with her baby. Four days later, the mother was spotted. She was alone. Gonçalves knew the baby had not survived. She was struck by how fiercely the mother had fought to protect her. It was much like a human mother.

Gonçalves and the team take samples from a matriarch while they collar her.

14 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER The matriarch leads, but everyone in the herd looks out for one another.

Big Trouble Getting a Signal As fearful as the elephants are of people, The team fires a tranquilizer dart. This people fear the elephants, too. And no one makes the elephant sleepy. Once it’s asleep, wants an unpredictable elephant destroying the team can land. “The events happen their crops! quickly,” Gonçalves says. “Everyone has Gonçalves’s goal is for people and a role.” elephants to peacefully coexist. Avoiding Some members of the team take conflicts is important! So, a key part of measurements and samples of the elephant. her job is to keep track of where the Others help fit the collar around the elephants travel. She must collar and track elephant’s neck. Then they wait for the their movements. elephant to wake up and get back on Collaring an elephant is as hard as it her feet. sounds. First, you have to find an elephant. The team will receive data from the The search often happens by helicopter. collar every hour, for as long as two years. When the right elephant is found, a team With 10 elephants collared, the team goes into action. monitors everywhere they go.

PATHFINDER 15 Dominique Gonçalves looks for elephants from behind the wheel.

Interesting Encounters That was a mistake. The female elephant Gonçalves tracks the elephants’ came forward in a mock charge. She movements. She also spends a lot of time stopped abruptly. Then she charged again, in the field observing them. She takes getting closer to the vehicle. If she charges photographs of each animal. Some have one more time, Gonçalves thought, we’re distinguishing marks, like a missing tusk. done for. She did. Others have been marked by war with a bullet hole through the ear or a Elephant Intervention missing tail. The elephant bolted forward, striking the Gonçalves also records their behavior. vehicle on the metal grate with all her She pays attention to how they are grouped strength. She stepped back and charged and how they spend their time. again, shearing off the grate. The elephant One day, Gonçalves was traveling with then started pushing against the vehicle a student who had an interest in elephants. with her head. The team had not seen an elephant in three Next, the elephant tried to reach the days. They went out looking for them. passenger’s side where Gonçalves’ student After a long drive, they found some sat. She hit the window on the student’s elephants. Gonçalves stopped her vehicle side, shattering the glass and sending it in to watch them and to take pictures. She all directions. Gonçalves’ student ducked. noticed, out of the corner of her eye, one When the elephant hit the car again, they female elephant hiding behind a tree. began yelling and banging on the doors. Better keep my eye on that one, she thought They tried to make enough noise to send to herself. the elephant away. But the elephant charged Gonçalves began taking pictures and a third time. writing notes. When she looked again, the Just then, the matriarch, who had female elephant had moved closer. It was been peacefully grazing, started to move. now hiding behind a closer tree. Gonçalves Gonçalves thinks that the matriarch may turned her head back to the group. have made a low rumble.

16 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER That rumble would have stopped the Lasting Impression attack. Whatever signal was given, the There is still a lot to learn about the attacking elephant stopped and ran back to elephants in Gorongosa. Despite the join the others. trauma of the war, Gonçalves knows that The vehicle was badly damaged. Driving Gorongosa is a magical place. away was not an option. They were She remembers one of her first elephant stranded. With her heart beating wildly, encounters with a group of young bulls. Gonçalves radioed for help. When help One bull approached the door of her arrived in another vehicle, she and her vehicle. He came so close to her, she could student, badly shaken, sped off with see her own reflection in his large, amber their rescuers. eye. He studied her, as if trying to decide what should be done about her. WORDWISE After staring, the bull moved gently animal behaviorist: a person who away. He did not perceive her as a threat. studies the ways in which animals He and the other bulls went back to interact with each other, with other living beings, and with the grazing, as if nothing had happened. But environment Gonçalves felt that her life changed forever in that moment. matriarch: a female who rules or dominates a family or group

The female elephant charges. This photo was taken moments before she hit Gonçalves’ vehicle.

PROTECT THE NATURAL WORLD Protecting the planet is vital! The National Geographic Society has set a goal to help improve the status of 100 species or populations by 2030.

PATHFINDER 17 Beverly Goodman is a marine geoarchaeologist. She studies how archaeology, geology, and anthropology help us understand how nature and people impact coastlines. We interviewed this National Geographic Explorer about her work.

18 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER The Human Journey SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES As you read, think about how scientists plan and carry out investigations to answer questions. with Beverly Goodman

PATHFINDER 19 Q: Where is your current work focused? A: I am looking for and describing coastlines and tsunami deposits all over the world. Tsunamis are large and powerful ocean waves. They grow in size as they reach the shore. Most are caused by earthquakes. When this happens, big gaps may appear on the ocean floor. Water moves in to fill this gap, and a tsunami forms. Tsunamis can cause major damage as they rush inland, flooding cities. Early in her career, Goodman studied the ancient city of Caesarea in Israel.

Goodman never dives without her red bandana. It reminds her of the red cap worn by oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.

Q: Describe your first dive at Caesarea. A: One of the excavation leaders took us out for a tour of the site. He wanted to check how our gear was working. He also wanted to see how well we could handle Goodman takes notes on a special ourselves before the dive began. waterproof notepad. Below, she collects I was the least-experienced diver in sediments in a small bag. the group and very nervous. However, once we dropped into the water, we were surrounded by massive blocks of ancient building materials. At that point, I was too distracted to think about whether or not I was a good enough diver. We cruised around ancient cement blocks covered in plants and critters. Through a space that felt like a small canyon, we could see wood that was 2,000 years old!

20 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER Q: What were you looking for during that Q: How large was the debris field? season of excavation? A: We didn’t know how large the debris A: Though some writings suggested that field might be. To find out, we needed to tsunamis happened here in the past, we take core samples. For this, we need long didn’t have proof of tsunamis on land. pipes that we insert into the seafloor. This One problem is that an archaeological site is not so easy to do in sand. You must on a coastline tends to have a lot of sand, hammer the pipe in a long time. Then you pottery, shell, and gravel. A tsunami deposit must remove it somehow. has the same things! This made it hard How could we connect an automatic to realize that some of those layers were hammer to the top of the pipe to hammer actually from a tsunami. it in? Then how could we attach ropes To confirm their suspicions, the team and floats to pull it out? It took a lot of looked for evidence of tsunamis below sketching and thinking until we got it right. the surface. At first, it took 12 days to collect two core The first evidence was collected during samples. Now, we can collect three cores in underwater archaeological excavations. a day! These are done using something called a water dredge. It’s a kind of underwater vacuum cleaner. The evidence that we found was layers of materials that came from the deep sea mixed with materials from the shallow sea and beach. There was also material that came from the land. The mixture included pottery, shells, pebbles, microscopic organisms, patches of mud, and sometimes even large pieces of carved marble. The only thing that could cause this mix of materials would be very strong waves. The team then linked this mix of material with what they knew about the past. They discovered that the age of the deposits Goodman holds matched the age of the historically steady a pipe being described events. used to take a core The discovery was important for proving sample of that the written records were not describing the seabed. regular storms or other events, but actual tsunamis.

PATHFINDER 21 Goodman always checks her gear before she dives. Sometimes, repairs need to be made.

Goodman shows students what the inside of a core sample looks like.

Q: What’s the next mystery you’re trying to solve? A: I would like to find the location of coastal prehistoric villages that were drowned after the last ice age. During the ice age, sea levels were much lower, and many people lived on the coastline. We don’t know very much about those people. Q: What are three things you never I am trying to find these sites and unveil dive without? what their life looked like. A: I always, always have a camera—or two Q: What are three qualities that an explorer or three—with me. That way, I have backup in your field must have? if something goes wrong. I also wear a red A: I think an explorer needs to be very bandana to keep my hair out of my mask. curious, not easily discouraged, and open- It’s also a tribute to oceanographer Jacques minded. If you are not open-minded, you Cousteau, who wore a red cap. might not see new things that are right in The last thing that I bring with me is front of you. You can get too focused on an underwater notebook. We call them what you think you know and what you “wetnotes.” They are made of a special think you should find. paper that can get wet without falling apart.

22 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER WORDWISE

anthropology: the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space Goodman prepares for another dive. excavation: to remove materials carefully and systematically from an area in order to find buried remains Q: What’s the hardest part about being an explorer? geoarchaeologist: a person who A: Probably the hardest part of being an uses the techniques and subject matter of geography, geology, and explorer is leaving my home and family. other Earth sciences to examine When I return home from an adventure, archaeological topics it is fun to share stories with them and tsunami: a long, high sea wave sometimes unusual gifts from exotic places. caused by an earthquake, submarine landslide, or other disturbance

PATHFINDER 23 Turtle vs. Tortoise In this issue, you’ll read about an effort to protect sea turtle eggs. Earlier in the year, Explorer magazine wrote about DEVELOPMENT giant tortoises that live on the Galápagos Islands. What’s the Editorial Director: Richard Easby difference between turtles and tortoises? Creative Director: Karen Thompson Editorial Manager: Brenna Maloney Senior Editor: Corinne Rucker Media Manager: Jay Sumner Rights Clearance Specialist: Jean Cantu Designer: Patrick Cavanagh Production: Emily McKean Digital Content Platform: H5mag

BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS Operations Manager: Emily Mallozzi Program Manager: Erin West Kephart

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EDUCATION VP, Strategy & Innovation: Jennifer Aguilar VP, Global Education Strategy: Lina Gomez VP, Education Programs: Kim Hulse

Turtles Printed by Quad Graphics • Live mostly in the water PUBLISHED BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY • Have webbed feet and streamlined shells for swimming President & CEO: Tracy R. Wolstencroft CFO & COO: Mike Ulica • Eat jellyfish, sea sponges, and kelp in the ocean; in EVP, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary: freshwater, eat plants, insects, and even small fish Angelo Grima EVP, Chief Education Officer: Dr. Vicki Phillips Chief Administrative Officer: Tara Bunch EVP, Chief Scientist: Jonathan Baillie Both Chief of Content, Communications and Public Affairs: Kalee Kreider Are ectotherms* Lay eggs SVP, Global Engagement: Emma Carrasco SVP, Chief Storytelling Officer: Kaitlin Yarnall Breathe air Have scales and shells VP, Human Resources: Yvonne Perry

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER Tortoises (ISSN 1541-3357) is published seven times during the school year—September, October, November– Live only on land December, January–February, March, April, May—by National Geographic Society, 1145 17th • Do not have webbed feet Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Attn: EXPLORER • Eat low-growing shrubs, grasses, cacti, fruits, MAGAZINE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, PO Box 291875, and other plants Kettering, OH 45429. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. • Have dome-shaped shells Copyright © 2019 National Geographic Society. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER without written permission is prohibited. National Geographic, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER, and the Yellow Border are trademarks of the National Geographic Society.

Cover: a sea turtle and Kim Williams-Guillén; elephants and Dominique Gonçalves; Beverly Goodman 11/19/QGL/1 *Ectotherms are animals that cannot produce enough heat inside their bodies JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 to maintain a steady, warm temperature.

COVER: (SEA TURTLE) DAVID DOUBILET/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION; (KIM WILLIAMS-GUILLÉN) BEN BLANKENSHIP; (ELEPHANTS) ELEPHANTVOICES; (DOMINIQUE GONÇALVES) IVAN AGERTON; (DIVER) JEFFERSON CLARK; (BEVERLY GOODMAN) REBECCA HALE/NG STAFF. TO CATCH A THIEF: PAGES 2-9 (ILLUSTRATIONS) EVGENY BORNYAKOV/SHUTTERSTOCK; DAM_POINT/SHUTTERSTOCK; PAGES 3 & 6 (MAGNIFYING GLASS) STUDIO_G/SHUTTERSTOCK; PAGES 2-3 (BIG PHOTO) © RALPH PACE/MINDEN PICTURES; (INSET) BEN BLANKENSHIP; PAGE 4 (MAP) MAPPING SPECIALISTS, LTD; (PHOTO) REINHARD DIRSCHERL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; PAGE 5 (1 & 6) © TUI DE ROY/MINDEN PICTURES; (2) © MITSUAKI IWAGO/MINDEN PICTURES; (3) © PIERRE HUGUET/BIOSPHOTO/MINDEN PICTURES; (4) © SYLVAIN CORDIER/NPL/MINDEN PICTURES; (5) © SOLVIN ZANKL/NPL/MINDEN PICTURES; PAGE 6 (BOTH) HELEN PHEASEY; PAGE 7 (BOTH TOP IMAGES) JOSHUA SCHAEDEL; (BOTTOM) KIM WILLIAMS-GUILLÉN; PAGE 8 (TOP) MATTHEW DOLKAS; (GREEN) © NICOLAS-ALAIN PETIT/BIOSPHOTO/MINDEN PICTURES; (HAWKSBILL) © GERRIT VAN OMMERING/BUITEN-BEELD/MINDEN PICTURES; PAGE 9 (LEATHERBACK) © DOUG PERRINE/NPL/MINDEN PICTURES; (OLIVE RIDLEY) © INGO ARNDT/MINDEN PICTURES. GORONGOSA’S ELEPHANTS: PAGES 10-11 (ELEPHANTS) JEN GUYTON; (INSET) IVAN AGERTON; PAGES 12-13, 15, 17 JOYCE POOLE, ELEPHANTVOICES; PAGE 14 CHARLES HAMILTON JAMES/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION; PAGE 16 IVAN AGERTON; PAGE 17 (HANDS & GLOBE) INCOMIBLE/SHUTTERSTOCK. DEEP DIVE: PAGES 18-19 (DIVER) DAVE FLEETHAM/PACIFIC STOCK-DESIGN PICS/SUPERSTOCK; (INSET) REBECCA HALE/NG STAFF; PAGE 20 (TOP LEFT) AKOS KALMAN; (BOTTOM LEFT) JEFFERSON CLARK; (RIGHT) MOR KANARI; PAGE 21 AKOS KALMAN; PAGE 22 (LEFT) BEVERLY GOODMAN; (RIGHT) ARTHUR CLARKE; PAGE 23 MOR KANARI. TURTLE VS. TORTOISE: PAGE 24 (TOP) © ANDY ROUSE/NATUREPL.COM; (BOTTOM) © TUI DE ROY/NATUREPL.COM; (ILLUSTRATIONS) YLQ/SHUTTERSTOCK.

To find your Explorer Magazine online resources or for questions visit: NatGeo.org/ExplorerMag

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Migrate U Manatees Migrate In National Geographic’s long history, women explorers have helped our understanding of our world through their courage, curiosity, endurance, and WOMEN EXPLORERS strength. Get to know a handful of these amazing women. 2020 CALENDAR January Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4

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19 20 21 22 23 24 25 BALFORE ARCHIVE IMAGES/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO STOCK IMAGES/ALAMY ARCHIVE BALFORE 26 27 28 29 30 31 Harriet Chalmers Adams was a writer and photographer who recorded the life of people in faraway places in the early 1900s. She became the first woman to travel overland from the Amazon to French Guyana and to climb El Misti in Peru. She was one of the February few women journalists to cover World War I. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1

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23 24 25 26 27 28 29 COLLECTION IMAGE GEOGRAPHIC BOYES/NATIONAL STEVE Adjany Costa is an Angolan conservationist and explorer. She is the assistant director for National Geographic’s Okavango Wilderness Project. This is a multiyear effort to explore and survey Africa’s Okavango March River Basin to protect its vital ecosystem. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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Asha de Vos is a Sri Lankan marine biologist. She runs the Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project— the first long-term study of blue whales in the Indian Ocean. In National Geographic’s long history, women explorers have helped our understanding of our world through their courage, curiosity, endurance, and strength. Get to know a handful of these amazing women. Copyright © 2019. National Geographic and the Yellow Border are registered trademarks of the National Geographic Society.

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WOLCOTT HENRY/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION IMAGE GEOGRAPHIC HENRY/NATIONAL WOLCOTT 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Sylvia Earle is an American marine biologist and oceanographer. She set the women’s record for a solo dive depth in 1986. Earle was the first woman chief 31 scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She is often called “Her Deepness.”

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COURTESY BARBARA HILLARY BARBARA COURTESY 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Barbara Hillary is a retired New York nurse who became the first — and oldest — black woman to ski to the North Pole at 75 years old in 2007. 28 29 30 In National Geographic’s long history, women explorers have helped our understanding of our world through their courage, curiosity, endurance, and WOMEN EXPLORERS strength. Get to know a handful of these amazing women. 2020 CALENDAR July Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4

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19 20 21 22 23 24 25 DAVID GILL/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION IMAGE GEOGRAPHIC GILL/NATIONAL DAVID

26 27 28 29 30 31 Shabana Basij-Rasikh is an Afghan educator and women’s rights champion. She grew up under the rule of the Taliban. Since educating women was forbidden, she dressed as a boy to attend a secret school. She founded HELA, Inc., whose mission is to “Empower August Afghan Women through Education.” Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1

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16 17 18 19 20 21 22 RYAN LASH/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION IMAGE GEOGRAPHIC LASH/NATIONAL RYAN 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Jedidah Isler is an American astrophysicist who studies black holes in space. Her research explores the physics of blazars – supermassive black holes at the 30 31 centers of galaxies that create particle jets moving at nearly the speed of light.

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13 14 15 16 17 18 19 REBECCA HALE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION IMAGE GEOGRAPHIC HALE/NATIONAL REBECCA 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Marina Elliott is a biological anthropologist from Canada, who in 2013, became one of six “underground astronauts” to excavate more than 1,500 fossils from a 27 28 29 30 cave in South Africa. The find resulted in the naming of a new species of human relative: Homo naledi. In National Geographic’s long history, women explorers have helped our understanding of our world through their courage, curiosity, endurance, and strength. Get to know a handful of these amazing women. Copyright © 2019. National Geographic and the Yellow Border are registered trademarks of the National Geographic Society.

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18 19 20 21 22 23 24 MARTIN EDSTROM/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION IMAGE GEOGRAPHIC EDSTROM/NATIONAL MARTIN

Thandiwe Mweetwa is a Zambian wildlife 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 biologist. She’s working to protect large carnivores, like lions, in her home country. Mweetwa established the Women in Wildlife Conservation Training Program in 2016 to inspire local young women to consider careers in conservation. November Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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Wasfia Nazreen is a mountaineer and activist. 29 30 She is the first Bengali and only Bangladeshi to climb the seven summits. She is the founder of Ösel Foundation, which provides young girls in Bangladesh and Nepal with mindfulness training and outdoor education. December

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20 21 22 23 24 25 26 RANDALL SCOTT/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC IMAGE COLLECTION IMAGE GEOGRAPHIC SCOTT/NATIONAL RANDALL

Sandhya Narayanan is a Canadian 27 28 29 30 31 linguistic anthropologist. She studies how language use and linguistic differences shape cultural changes in human populations. She works along the Lake Titicaca basin on the Peru-Bolivia border.